With NBA All-Star weekend a year away, host committee is getting down to the nitty gritty

INDIANAPOLIS -- After eight years of preparation, NBA All-Star weekend is finally less than a year away from its arrival in Indianapolis.

The Pacers and Indianapolis started preparing for the all-star weekend in 2017, when the NBA announced Indianapolis as its 2021 venue. But the all-star game was postponed and then moved to Atlanta in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the postponement, Indianapolis got the next available weekend in 2024.

"We've been waiting for the NBA All-Star game for a long time," Tamika Catchings, co-chair of the NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee Board, said. "It's right around the corner, so this is a big step, and what a fun way to do it."

And right around the corner means 272 days away — "Not that we're counting," President of Pacers Sports and Entertainment and of the host committee Mel Raines said. NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis will run from Feb. 16-18, 2024.

Raines and Catchings officially announced the 2024 NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis by waving the flag to kick off qualifying for the Indy 500 on Saturday.

Qualifiers day 1: LIVE: 2023 Indianapolis 500 results from qualifying at IMS

"When we get to all-star next year, it'll be just about 100 days from the 500," Raines said. "I think one of the best parts of Indianapolis is how much everybody supports each other and lifts each other up, so for IMS to ask us to be here today and for us to partner with them during (the) all-star (weekend) to promote what's coming after, I just think it speaks volumes about our community."

With all-star weekend less than a year away, Raines said the host committee is getting down to the small details.

"We're getting into the nitty gritty, the hard work of it," Raines said. "The league's been out a few times over the last few weeks to look at venues and walk perimeters and all those kinds of things."

The host committee anticipates announcing some "exciting things" about the 2024 All-Star Game by the Fourth of July, Raines said. And the committee will be taking ideas from this year's Indy 500 to incorporate into their plan.

"I think the guest experience at the track is fantastic, the largest sporting event in the world," Raines said. "When I drove in here today, everyone greeted me nicely. They're excited to be here. We work on that every day in our business as well. ... We have some folks from the NBA coming next weekend to experience the greatest spectacle in sports, so we're excited to show them some Hoosier hospitality and how we do big events in Indiana."

And Catchings, who played for the Fever from 2002-16, is already looking ahead to bringing another all-star event to Indianapolis.

"Next on my mind is how do we get a WNBA All-Star Game to Indianapolis?" Catchings said. "We'll keep it going."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2024 NBA All-Star in Indianapolis is less than a year away